NFL Draft pundits were waiting to see how fast ex-Gophers cornerback Jalen Myrick ran a 40-yard dash in the scouting combine in March before penciling him into their mock drafts.

Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller was among the skeptics. “I liked his instincts. I like his toughness,” he told the Pioneer Press in December. “The thing that I’m holding out for is that true athleticism and seeing his hips at the combine and how fast is he going to run.”

After Myrick ran a blazing 4.28-second time in the 40 at the combine — the fastest in Big Ten history — Miller bumped Myrick up to a fifth-round pick in his final mock draft on Thursday morning. Miller also has former Gophers safety Damarius Travis going in the sixth round.

“It helped me significantly,” Myrick said of his head-turning sprint. “It had teams taking a second look at me to know exactly what they would be getting.”
Minnesota defensive back Jalen Myrick runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine Monday, March 6, 2017, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Myrick, who worked out for the Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots, said he hasn’t paid any attention to the mock drafts. Instead, he is listening to teams telling him he is being projected to go somewhere from the second to fifth rounds. The second and third rounds will be conducted Friday, with the fourth to seventh rounds taking place Saturday.

“I’ve been dreaming about it, and I’m just waiting for the call,” said Myrick, who will watch the draft on TV with family and friends in his hometown of Savannah, Ga.

The Gophers are one of five college programs to have a player from the defensive secondary taken each draft since 2014. Ohio State, Alabama, Florida State and Virginia Tech are the others.

If Myrick and/or Travis are taken Saturday, it would continue the player-development legacy under the Jerry Kill and Tracy Claeys’ coaching staff.

Former Gophers secondary coach/defensive coordinator Jay Sawvel, now DC at Wake Forest, was the position coach for the previous draftees — Cedric Thompson, Brock Vereen and Eric Murray. Sawvel preached the importance of playing special teams as a ticket to suiting up on Sundays.

Murray, who was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fourth round of the 2016 draft, was named to Pro Football Focus’ All-Pro special teams unit last season, particularly for his standout kickoff coverage.

At 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds, Travis’ biggest potential is as a special-teams guy, Miller said. But NFL Network’s Mike Mayock and others consider this to be a very deep safety class. Travis, of Pensacola, Fla., led the Gophers with 83 tackles and shared the team lead with two interceptions.

Myrick, given his speed and experience returning kicks and punts for the Gophers, also factors in as a potential special-teams contributor on many units. Teams he’s talked to have mentioned him in those roles.

“I understand it,” Myrick said. “We had to play it for Sawvel in order to get on the field on the defense, so it definitely helped me a lot.”

As a cornerback, Myrick’s speed and coverage skills helped him allow only one reception on 18 go routes in 2016, according to Pro Football Focus. The 5-foot-10, 200-pounder had a team high 11 pass breakups and one interception.

If Travis or Myrick slip out of the draft, their 2015 teammate Briean Boddy-Calhoun showed there is still a route to the NFL as an undrafted free agent. Once the draft ended, Boddy-Calhon was picked up by the Jacksonville Jaguars but was cut near the end of training camp. He landed with the Cleveland Browns, for whom he had 43 tackles and three interceptions in 14 games last season.

Andy Greder covers the Gophers and Minnesota United for the Pioneer Press. Since joining the paper full time in November 2013, he has also covered the Timberwolves as a beat and spot duty from the Vikings to high schools. He was a part-time breaking news reporter at the Pioneer Press from 2011-13, when he was also a freelance writer and organic farmer. He started at the Duluth News Tribune in 2006, covering sports, news and business until living abroad in 2010.

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